John Badham | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1937-04-01)April 1, 1937 Brock, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Died | December 8, 2016(2016-12-08) (aged 79) Peterborough, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Sportscaster, radio announcer |
| Years active | 1957–2016 |
| Known for | Canadian Football League |
| Awards | Canadian Football Hall of Fame |
John Badham (April 1, 1937 – December 8, 2016) was a Canadiansportscaster and radio announcer. He did play-by-play commentary for fiveCanadian Football League teams for 22 seasons and announced at 24Grey Cups. He also covered the1976 Summer Olympics and1984 Winter Olympics forCBC Sports, and later worked for radio stations inPeterborough, Ontario from 1988 to 2016. He was inducted into the media section of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
John Badham was born on April 1, 1937,[1] inBrock, Saskatchewan,[2][3] and was the son of an Anglican priest.[4] His family moved around to several locations in Saskatchewan, then settled inWeyburn where he finished high school. He then worked at the Weyburn Mental Hospital and met his future wife, Dorothy Issac, who was a nurse.[5][6] He and his wife had four children.[7]
Badham began his sports career doing radio broadcasts for the Weyburn Beaverssenior ice hockey team during the 1957–58 season. He then didplay-by-play commentary forSaskatchewan Roughriders games in theCanadian Football League from 1959 to 1969,[8] while working forCKCK-FM based inRegina, Saskatchewan.[9]
Badham moved toToronto in 1969, and did play-by-play for theToronto Argonauts, including three tenures on three separate radio stations.[8] He briefly returned to Saskatchewan to do play-by-play for theRegina Pats in theWestern Hockey League for the1974 Memorial Cup.[10]
While working forCBC Sports, Badham covered the1976 Summer Olympics inMontreal.[11][12] For his commentary at thecanoe and kayak events, neither he nor the director knew anything about the sport and relied on fellow commentator Marjorie Homer-Dixon who represented Canada in kayak events at the Summer Olympic Games in 1968 and 1972.[13]
Badham became the play-by-play announcer for theHamilton Tiger-Cats onCJJD-AM in 1978.[14] He later moved toVancouver to be the play-by-play announcer onCFUN for theBC Lions until the 1983 season.[15]
Badham covered the1984 Winter Olympics inSarajevo for CBC Sports.[11][12]He was in attendance whenGaétan Boucher won two gold medals and a bronze for Canada inspeed skating at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Badham also recalled that in Sarajevo, "the airport was jam-packed with planes coming from all over and the military with guns were everywhere".[2]
Badham became the voice of theOttawa Rough Riders to replaceErnie Calcutt who died,[15] and worked as the sports director atCFRA 580 AM inOttawa.[12] His play-by-play career ended in 1988, after he had called Canadian Football League games for 22 seasons for five different teams.[8][11][12]
Badham's other work included play-by-play for at least 24Grey Cups, theCanadian College Bowl and as a regular presenter of theSchenley Award ceremonies for the league's most value player.[16] He also covered theCommonwealth Games, aSuper Bowl, and Canadian andWorld Curling Championships.[8][12]
Badham departed Ottawa forPeterborough after he was hired atCHEX-TV in 1988, by Wally Macht who knew him when they were competing radio news anchors in Saskatchewan during the 1960s. CHEX operated bothKruz 100.5 andThe Wolf 101.5, for which Badham appeared on air until he retired from full-time work in 2011.[6][8] He and his partner Mike Melnik worked together on the Kruz for more than 5,000 morning shows over a span of 20 years.[6] Badham also briefly served as the public address announcer forPeterborough Petes home games,[17] but resigned after a few games to remain as a journalist for the team.[18]
Badham returned to radio part-time in 2013 as host of the showThe Regulars onExtra 90.5 until early in 2016,[8][12] then hosted a noon-hour current events show until July 2016.[6] He died on December 8, 2016, at thePeterborough Regional Health Centre due toliver cancer.[6][11]
TheRegina Leader-Post noted that Badham had a reputation for "energetic play-by-play" commentary of the Canadian Football League, and "became known for his colourful and sometimes controversial news reports and interviews".[19] He was inducted into the media section of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1995.[10][16] He was recognized with a career achievement award from Sports Media Canada in November 2016, accepted on his behalf by his sons while he was in hospital watching viaFaceTime.[8][12]
The John Badham Bursary was posthumously established atTrent University, given annually to a student in journalism, with funding by donations and the annual John Badham Memorial Golf Tournament.[5][20]